Starting mechanism



April 2, 1935. J. w. ALLEN SFPARTINGl MEcHANIsM v Filed June 22, 1932 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIINHINI IN VEN TOR.

Patented Apr. 2, 1935 i UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE STARTING MECHANISM Joseph W. Allen, East Orange, N. J., assignor, by -mesne assignments, to Eclipse Aviation Corporation, East Orange, N. J.,

New Jersey a corporation of This invention relates to starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, and particularly to engine starters of the type in which starting is effected by transmission of torque to the engine crankshaft or its equivalent. The invention is further applicable to driving mechanisms of general application outside the engine starting art.

An object of the present invention is to provide novel means whereby driving torque may be transmitted to a membery to be driven to cause rotation thereof in either direction as desired.

Another'object of the invention is to provide an engine starting mechanism embodying a novel motion converting device associated with the engine-engaging means, whereby the engine may be turned over in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction as desired.

A further object is to provide novel means for supporting and actuating the novel motion converting device above referred to, whereby compactness and symmetry is achieved with an econ omy in both space consumed and number of parts employed. In this connection, a feature of the invention is the provision of an engine starter employing a pair of concentrically disposed, rotatable members each having projections so disposed as to interengageA to cause a limited axial shifting of one member in response to initial rotation of the other, the direction of axial shift ofthe rst named member being the same for either clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation of the second member. f

These and other objects and advantages to be derived from the use of the invention herein disclosed will become apparent upon an inspection of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein the preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed. It is to be understood, however, that the drawing is for the purpose of illustration only and is not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being hadfor such purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 yis a longitudinal sectional view of a device embodying the invention; v

Fig'. 2 is a view in elevation of one of the two lconcentrically disposed motion converting members above described;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the other motion converting member;' and l Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the action of the parts shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Fig..1, the invention is shown embodied in a suitable means 30.

housing constituted by an inner section 3 and an outer section 4 having a suitable flange 5 to receive bolts 6 for detachably connecting said sections. The inner section 3 is provided with a ange 'I for engagement with a mounting ange 5 8 formed on the engine casing, the' fastening means being insertable through a series of openings, one of which is indicated at 9. Secured Within section 4 is an electric motor provided with a casing Il) having openings to receive screws 10 I2 which may be employed for detachably securing the motor to the housing 4. While the construction herein disclosed is particularly well suited for application to a motor drive in the manner. shown, it is to be understood that the 15 invention embraces the use of other driving means, including hand operated means.

When a motor is employed, it may be of any suitable type including an armature shaft I3 provided with a laterally projecting reduced portion 20 I4'that is rotatably mounted, as by means of a suitable bearing I5, in the dividing wall I6 inter posed between casing sections 3 and 4. Drivably connected to the reduced portion I4 of the armature shaft is a pinion I 'I meshing with a spur 25 gear I8 which in the form shown is integral with a shaft I 9 one end of'which is cut to form a pinion 20 and the other end of which is threaded as indicated at 2I for reception of va retaining nut 22 adapted to hold it from axial displacement with- 30 in the ball bearing assemblies 23 and 24, facilitating free rotation of the'shaft I9 in the hub 25, the latter constituting a support not only for the bearings 23 and 24, but also for the bearing I5 previously-described. The latter bearing -is also 35 provided with a suitable retaining sleeve 21 held in place by a plate 29 secured to the hub 25 by The bearing assembly I5 also engages a shoulder 3| formed in the hub 25 and the bearing thus acts to 'absorb the thrust of 40 the pinion I1 transmitted through the retaining nut 33 threadedly engaging the inotor nd of. the pinion.

The pinion 20 is adapted to mesh with an internal gear 36 'which has a hub 3l provided with 45 teeth 38 -so that it constitutes a sun gear for a plurality of planetary-gears 39 which are rotatably mounted to mesh with an internal gear 40 flxedly secured to the housing by suitable bolts 42, the gear being initially located by a dowel pin 43 or 50 its equivalent. The gear 36 and its hub '31 are rotatably mounted as by means of a bushing 45 on a stub shaft 46, the outer reduced end of which is threaded for engagement by a retaining nut 49, which-in conjunction with the disc 5l) and 55 4ing section 3. .Each of the planetary gears 39,

one of which is shown in section in Fig. 1, is centrally apertured for reception of a ball bearing assembly 61 carried by a sleeve which is received at its inner end by a counterbore in the plate portion 8| of the barrel. Extending through each sleeve and threaded into thebarrel en'd 6| is a screw 69 adapted to support the corresponding sleeve, the bearing 61, and the planetary gear 39.

Preferably a retaining ring 18 for the bearings 61 is provided, said ring being held in place by the heads of screws 69.

A multiple disc clutch is preferably provided in association with the barrel 68, to insure rel'ative rotary movement between the engine engaging member and the train of gearing above described, whereby the latter is protected from damage due to an excessive shock or load. ,As

shown, the disc lclutch comprises a plurality of inter-leaving discs 19, alternately splined to the inner surface of the barrel 68, and the outer surface of a shell 88 constituting one of the two novel motion`convertlng members referred to in the introductory portion of this description. Re-

silient. means, such as a plurality of coiled compression springsv 8|, the pressure of which is ad- .'iustable by a nut 82 threadedly engaging the end 83 of the barrel, are provided t'opress upon a flange 85 on member 80, and thus'maintain the discs 19 in frictional engagement with a pressure suiiicient to insure transmission of torque from member 6|, up to a predetermined capacity.

The second novel motion converting member which coacts with the member 80 to Vdrivably connect the latter member with the engine crankshaft or other member to .be driven to rotate the latter in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction as desired, is shown at 86 in Figs. -1 and 2. As indicated best in Fig. 2, the member 86 is substantially cylindrical in form, with its surface cut away along intersecting paths disposed obliquely to the axis of the member and spaced so as to leave remaining portions A81 in the nature of studs projecting from the major portion 88 of reduced diameter, and assuming a substantially triangular shape, although practically any other geometrical form can be substituted; moreover, these studs may, if preferred, be separate pieces attached to the surface of the cylinder 86 in any suitable manner. The inner surface of the cooperating cylindrical shell 80 is similarly cut along i interesecting'diagonal paths forming grooves 89 of a diameter such as to permit the projections 81 on the shaft 86 yto register therewith in the manner indicated diagrammatically in` Fig. 4. With the starter at rest in the normal position, as indicated in Fig. 1, the studs 81 lie in the intersections between successive grooves 89, occupying' positions in relation to said grooves similar to the position indicated for the stud 81 in the diagram of Fig. 4. Moreover, the parts are designed of such relative dimensions that the length of each groove 89 from intersection to intersection is somewhat greater than the total possible axial travel' of the member 88, for Ia purpose which will become'apparent in the following description of what occurs as the parts begin to move.

From these illustrations it will be apparent that upon rotation of the driving member 80 in a clockwise direction, as viewed from the right of Fig. 3, a cam action will be produced between the registering obliquely disposed sides of the grooves 89 and the projections 8l, the registering sides being those shown in Fig. 3 as sloping downwardly from left to right. As a result of such cam action, the projections 81 will be caused to slide along the grooves 89 in a direction toward the left, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, and such action will result in a leftward displacement of the shaft 86 relatively to the sleeve 88. On the other hand, if the sleeve 80 should rotate in a counterclockwise direction, a similar cam action will be produced, but in such event, it will be the oppositely directedgrooves -89 of the shell 80 which will receive, and direct the leftward movement o1 the projections 81; that is, those which, as viewed in Fig. 3, slope downwardly from right to left. Thus it is apparent that with either clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation of the shell 8 0, the reaction upon the projections 81 of the shaft 86 will move the latter to the left, assuming of course that the inertia, or latent opposition to rotation due to the mass of the member 86 and other factors, is greater than the resistance to axial movement of said member.

In order to assure that this condition will in fact exist, and in order to provide-for the possibility of such axial movement of the shaft 86, the latter is splined to, but spaced axially from the end portion 95 (Fig. 1) of a clutch element 96, which, as shown, is normally out of engagement with a cooperating clutch element 91 associated with the engine or other member to be driven. A coupling pin 98 preferably passes through the central bores 99 and 0| in the members 96 and 86, respectively, and is surrounded by a comp'ression spring |02 which bears yieldingly upon the lateral surfaces of the'members 96 and 86 to constitute the means for yieldably imparting the thrust created by the leftward movement of the member 86 to the clutch element 96 and thus move the latter into engagementvwith the clutch element 91. A nut is threaded to the end of the shaft 88, asindicated at |81, and acts to limit the axial movement of the latter by coming into contact with the shoulder |89 (Figs. l and 3) formed ony the internal surface of the shell 80 at the junction of the smooth portion thereof with the grooved portion.

As previously pointed out, this limit of axial movement is set so that the total possible axial movement of the member 88 is substantially less than the distance between successive intersections of the grooves 89. Therefore, the studs 81 will be incapable of traversing the full length of their respective grooves 89, the camming movement being halted and converted into a rotational movement at a point somewhat short of the succeeding intersection. By this. means a positive and predetermined control of the cam action in both directions is assured.

Fitted over the inner end of the starter is a cup-shaped member I I0 that is preferably formed of metal .and is provided with a flange adapted to be clamped between ange 1 of the starter housing and the engine flange 8. The inner portion of member H8 is bent inwardly toward jaw member 96 as at H2, and is provided vwith acentral opening which is slightly larger member 96. Preferably member is strengthened adjacent said opening by being bent or curved, as at ||3, the lip thus formed serving to receive a split ring |2| composed of a plurality of segments each of which has inwardly extending` teeth or lugs |22 engageable withv correspondingly spaced grooves |23 cut along the peripheral surface of clutch member 96. 'A toroidal spring |24 surrounds the split ring I2 I, resting in an annular groove formed in the periphery thereof. This spring |24 serves to yieldingly restrain the ring I2 I, and hence the clutch element 96, against immediate rotation in response to the initial rotary movement of the member 80, and thus cooperates with the members 80 and 86 in,.convert ing the initial rotary movement into an axial movement of the member 86, which axial movement is effective to move the clutch element 96 into mesh with the engine member 91.

In order to prevent seepage of oil through the central openings in member I|0, the later preferably carries a washer I4 which may be formed of leather or equivalent material. Normally, theinner portion of washer ||4 is held in engagement with the adjacent surface of the head of jaw member 96 by means of a flanged sleeve I I5 which slidably surrounds the outer cylindrical surface of the member 80 and abuts at its end against the flange 85 provided on the part 80.

-If desired, a metal ring |26 may be provided to clamp the washer I I4 to the cap member I I0.

In operation, if the engine or other member to be driven is to be turned in a clockwise direction, the electrical connections (not shown) to the motor are appropriately set and the current is caused to flow through the windings thereof. The resulting rotation of the armature shaft I3 is transmitted through the reduction gearing illustrated, to the barrel 60, the latter rotating in the opposite direction with the particular gear arrangement shown, although this is of course subject to variations. 0n the other hand, a reversal of the motor connections will produce a corresponding reversal in the direction of rotation of barrel 60. In either clockwise or counterclockwise rotation however, the cam action between the grooves 89 of the .driving member 80 and the projections 81 of the shaft 86 will cause the latter to .move to the left and impart a thrust to the spring |02 on the clutch element 96, which thrust will act to produce engagement between the members grand 91. Thereupon the member 86 being incapable of further axial movement due to either the complete meshing of thejaws of members 96 and 91 or to the contacting of the shoulder |09 by the nut |01, the members 80 and 86 will become, in effect, keyed to the nut for rotation as a unit and the torque thus transmitted will be effective to turn over the engine' crankshaft through the intermediate connections 96 and 91. When the engine thus starts under its own power, the resulting excess in` torque on the part of `the driven shaft 86 will cause a reverse cam action between the projections 81 and the grooves 89 andas a result thereof, the shaft 86 will move in an axial direction back to the original position indicated in Fig. 1, the clutch element. 96 being simultaneously returned through the action of the coupling pin 98. y

While it is obvious from the foregoing that the -'embodiment herein disclosed possesses practical the novel provisions herein disclosed and claimed,`

and which will be suggested to persons skilled lin the art on an'examination `of the foregoing de-v scription and the accompanying drawing:

It is to be understood therefore that various'- changes may be made in the construction, -ar- A rangement and inter-relation of the'parts entering into the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, the extent of the included variations being ascertainable by reference to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. An engine starter drive including a rotatable barrel, a substantially cylindrical shell arranged Within and concentrically of thebarrel, a friction clutch operatively connecting thc barrel and shell, a rotatable longitudinally movable clutch element mounted axially and centrally of the barrel and shell and adapted to engage and drive a member of the engine to be started, and means coacting with'the shell and clutch element for always causing the latter to move longitudinally into engine engaging position in response to rotation -of said barrel in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, said last named means also constituting the torque transmitting connection between said shell and clutch element, and operative to rotate the latter as it arrives at the engine engaging position.

2. An engine starter drive including a housing, a substantially cylindrical shell arranged within and concentrically of the housing, a rotatable longitudinally movable clutch element mounted axially and centrally of the shell and adapted to engage and drive a member of the engine to bey started, and means coacting with the shell and clutch element for always causing the latter to move longitudinally into engine engaging position in response to rotation of said shell ineither the clockwise or counter-,clockwise direction, said coacting means comprising -a shaft engaging a cross-grooved surface on said shell, and a plurality of cam elements on said shaft movable along different portions of said cross-grooved surface according to the direction of rotation of said shell, and also rotatable with said shell subsequent to said longitudinal movement.

3. A drive including a rotatable shell, a rotatable longitudinally movable clutch element mounted axially and centrally of the shell and adapted to engage and drive a second clutch element, means coacting with the shell andfirst.

.driving member, a'substantially cylindrical s hell,

means operatively connecting the-driving member and shell, a. rotatable clutch element mounted axially and centrally of the shell and adapted t'o engage and drive a member of the engine to be started, and torque transmitting means coacting with the shell and clutch element for always causing the latter to move into engine engaging posix tion in response to rotation of said driving member in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.

within and concentrically of the barrel,V a fric- 5'. An engine starter drive including a rotatable driving member, a substantially cylindrical shell arranged within and concentrically of the driving member, means operatively connecting the driving member and shell, a rotatable longitudinally movable clutch elementmounted axially and centrally of the driving member and shell Aand adapted to engage and drive a member of the engine to be started, and means coacting with the shell and clutch element for always causing the latter to move longitudinally into engine engaging position in response to rotation of said driving member in either the clockwiseor counter-clockwise direction, said coacting means comprising a cross-grooved surface on said shell, and a plurality of torque transmitting cam elements engageablewith different portions of said crossgrooved surface according to the direction of ro-l tation of the shell.

6. An engine starter drive including a rotatable driving member, a substantially cylindrical shell, means operatively connecting the shell and driving member, a rotatable longitudinally movlable shaft mounted axially and centrally of the driving member and shell, means for always causing the shaft Ato move longitudinally into engine cranking position in response to rotation of said driving member in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, said coacting means comprising a cross-grooved surface on said shell and a plurality of torque transmitting studs on said shaft engageable with different portions of said cross-grooved .surface according to the direction of rotation of the shell, and'a driving connection between said shaft andclutch element.

'7. An engine starter drive including a rotatable barrel, a substantially cylindrical shell arranged tion clutch operatively connecting the barrel and shell, a rotatable clutch element adapted to engage and drive a member of the engine to be started, and torque transmitting means coacting with the shell and clutch element for always causl ing the latter to move into engine-engaging position in response to rotation of said barrel in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.

8. An engine starter drive including a rotatable shaft, a `driving member for said shaft, a clutch element splined to said shaft and adapted I to engage and drive a member of the engine to be started, and means for always causing the clutch element to move into engine engaging position in response to rotation of said driving member in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, said means comprising a shell having a crossgrooved surface and a plurality of torque transmitting studs on said shaft engageable with different portions of said cross-grooved surface according to the direction of rotation of said shell.

, 9. In a device of the class described, a rotatable driving member, a rotatable shaft arranged within'and concentrically of the driving member, means including a rotatable shell operatively connecting the driving member and shaft, a rotatable clutch element mounted axially and centrally of the shaft and adapted to engage and drive a second clutch element, and means on said shell engageable with the shaft for always causing the clutch element to move into engaging position in response to rotation of said driving member in either the clockwise or counter-clockwis direction. 1 A JOSEPH W. ALLEN. 

